U.S. Department of Labor Fines Delaware Rail Car Tank Cleaning And Repair Facility $371,276 for Safety and Health Hazards

WILMINGTON, DE – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has cited Dana Rail Care for workplace safety and health hazards at the facility in Wilmington, Delaware. The company faces $371,276 in penalties.

OSHA initiated an inspection of the tank rail car cleaning and repair facility in August 2019 after receiving a complaint of numerous safety and health hazards. OSHA cited the company for electrical and explosion hazards, insufficient means of egress, use of defective powered industrial trucks, lack of medical clearance for respiratory protection use, improper use of respirators and inadequate secondary air supply, and lack of signage in a silica-regulated area. 

This is the second time in recent months that OSHA has cited Dana Rail Care for safety and health violations. In November 2019, OSHA issued a citation and proposed more than $550,000 in penalties following an employee fatality in Pittston, Pennsylvania, in May 2019. The company has contested that citation and the proposed penalties.

“Failure to comply with OSHA standards leaves employees vulnerable to dangers that can cause serious and potentially fatal injuries,” said OSHA Area Director Erin Gilmore, in Wilmington, Delaware. “Employers have an obligation to provide a safe and healthful workplace for their workers.”

“OSHA has extensive resources to help employers and employees understand how to comply with workplace safety and health standards,” stated Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health Loren Sweatt. “Employers must ensure that workers are provided necessary workplace safety and health protections.”

OSHA offers compliance assistance resources on using appropriate respiratory protection, and preventing hazards associated with powered industrial trucks.

The company has 15 business days from receipt of the citations and penalties to comply, request an informal conference with OSHA’s Area Director, or contest the findings before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.

Under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, employers are responsible for providing safe and healthful workplaces for their employees. OSHA’s role is to help ensure these conditions for America’s working men and women by setting and enforcing standards, and providing training, education, and assistance. For more information, visit https://www.osha.gov.

The mission of the Department of Labor is to foster, promote and develop the welfare of the wage earners, job seekers, and retirees of the United States; improve working conditions; advance opportunities for profitable employment; and assure work-related benefits and rights.